Grain guide and retarder for binders



June 22, 1943. WENGLER 2,322,706

GRAIN GUIDE AND RETARDER FOR BINDERS Filed Ju'ne 29, 1942 wl F, 1 m 5 JA v Z ,IgVENTR ATTOIiNE Patented June 22, 1943 OFFICE GRAIN GUIDE ANDRETARDER FOR BINDERS Frank Wengler, Remsen, Iowa Application June 29,1942, Serial No. 448,914

2 Claims.

My invention pertains to an improvement in binders.

An object of my invention is to provide a certain attachment which isattachable to a binder deck, and which will uniformly straighten out thegrain to a position directly transverse to the binder needle, packingarms etc., so that when the bundles are tied there is relatively littlewaste of grain.

A further object of my invention is to provide a series of serrationshaving certain characteristics in which the grain is brought to itscorrect lateral position as it travels forwardly.

A further object of my invention is to provide an arrangement which canbe adjusted for different lengths of grain, or which can be adjusted tocorrect the grain regardless of the angle in which it enters the binderdeck.

A further object of my invention is to provide a properly tensionedarrangement wherein undue pressure exerted by masses of grain or otherportions will cause resilient release of the straightenmg arrangementwithout destroying the guide and retarding effect thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide this structure in asimple arrangement which can be readily attached to any standard binderdeck and which is easily manufactured.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of mydevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines ll ofFigure 3,

Figure 2 is a detail taken along the lines 2-2 of Figure 3,

Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a detail taken along the lines 44 of Figure 3.

I have used the character In to designate the binder deck, character IIthe upper plate, characters l2 and I3 the rollers over which theelevating belts l4 and travel, and the character Hi the idling roller.Attached to the binder deck I0 is the bolt l! which includes a nutlocked against the washer l8 and which bolt I1 is received within theslot IQ of the bracket 20. Attached to the end of the bracket is thevertical post 2| which includes the portion 22 having an opening 23which receives the bolt 24 freely slidable therein. The bolt 24 includesthe head 25 and the bolt 24 is attached to the keeper 26 by means of thetwo threadedly engaged nuts 21, and positioned between the nuts 21 andthe member 22 is the compression spring 28.

The keeper 26 is attached at 29 to a substantially arcuate verticalplate 3|] which is of substantial length and height. The plate 30 ispreferably made of thin sheet metal and attached thereto is a retardingand guide member 3| which includes a series of equally spaced andarcuate raised points 32 as well as the angular portions 33 mergingtherefrom as well as the further portions 34 which are attached to theplate 30. It will be noted from Figure 3 especially that the portions3|, 32, 33, and 34 are preferably formed from one unit piece of sheetmaterial which is attached as explained, Joining the arcuate raisedportions 32 also are the portions 35 which are substantially at rightangles to the plate 30. This structure then, provides a series of raisedprojections including the angularly sloping portions 33 and as shown inFigure 3 with the projections being gradually directed toward thecentral portions of the deck l0 and toward the usual needle 36', andpacker arms 31 etc.

Attached at 38 (see Fig. 2) to the upper por tion of the plate 30 is afurther flange 39 to which is attached the bearing 40 which bearing isadapted to rotatably receive the pin 4| which is retained by means ofthe cotter pin 42, the pin 4| being attached to the portion 43 which inturn is bracket in desired position. Now that the structure of my devicehas been explained, I shall explain the operation thereof.

As the grain which is cut by the sickle travels up between thetravelling belts I4 and I5 it enters on to the deck at the approximateposition 48 as shown in Figure 1 and then falls upon the deck l0. Due tothe natural cutting action of the sickle on the binder, there is atendency for the heads of grain to be projected forwardly, due to thedrag effect, and it is necessary to straighten the grain so that it isdirectly lateral to the binding arrangement in the deck. As seen fromFigure 3 the dotted lines 49 indicate the grain in its various stages asit passes across the deck Ill, and it will be noted that the heads ofthe grain first impinge against the upper deflecting portions 33. As thegrain i traveling downwardly with respect to Figure 3, or down along thedeck in, the succeeding portions 33 will have the tendency of graduallyretarding the heads of the grain and bringing it to a lateral positionas it approaches the tying arrangement.

As illustrated in Figure 3 the gradual approach of the grain stalks tothe lateral position is shown, and each successive sloping portion 33has the tendency of successively straightening each stalk as itprogresses due to the retarding effect, and the rounded portions 32permit the grain ends to wipe across these portions without an abruptstopping action.

The curvature of the member 30 is such that the lower end is closer tothe tying arrangement of the binder than the upper end, and as the massof grain travels downwardly along the deck this has the added effect ofcarrying the grain inwardly toward the needle and points so that as aresult the combined effect of straightening the grain and momentarilyretarding it due to the projecting members as well as the curvature ofthe plate 30 tends to bring the grain to its true lateral position aswell as its centered position, thereby preventing stray stalks fromdrifting across the deck I sideways, and in this manner the stalks arecorrectly positioned and concentrated.

For convenience in understanding the drawing in Figure 3 especially, thelower end of the deck is indicated by the character 50. The tensionedarrangement as shown in Figures 3 and 4 insures that when heavy massesof grain or bulky portions thereof reach the lower end of the plates 30,in the event that such portions would tend to jam the arrangement, thespring 28 allows a resilient release at this point so that the entirearrangement will pivot about the pin 4! with the lower end of the plate30 being resiliently urged in the direction of the arrow 5|. Thisprevents clogging of the arrangement and insures that the grain is keptin its lateral position in spite of the effect of larger grain, massedgrain etc. It will be noted that by loosening the bolt and nutarrangement I1 and 46 that the brackets 20 and 44 can be adjusted ineither direction across the deck to accommodate different lengths of cutgrain, or to provide for grain entering the deck at difierent angles.

For instance the bracket 20 can beadjusted to carry the lower end of theplate 30 inwardly toward the tying arrangement or outwardly therefrom toaccommodate different grain lengths and so that the bundle will be tiedat the center thereof. Also the bracket 44 can be adjusted in the samemanner to carry the upper end of the plate 30 in either direction toform an increased or lessened arc to the plate 30 to accommodate grainwhich may fall on the deck at a steeper or lesser angle since this alsowill effect the angular position of the portions 33.

As a result the adjustment will take care of any length of grain, orother factors such as angle of entrance on to the deck, Weight thereofand the like.

It will now be seen that I have provided all of the advantages mentionedin the objects of my invention, with other advantages being readilyapparent.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a substantiallyarcuate plate member attached to a binder deck, said plate member beinpositioned at right angles to the deck, and having its lower end nearerto the binder tying mechanism than its upper end, said plate memberincluding a plurality of raised serrations, said serrations havingangularly inclined rear portions against which grain heads are adaptedto bear, said serrations having rounded end portions, means foradjustably securing said plate in any desired position, including a pairof brackets attached thereto, one of said brackets being pivotallyattached thereto, the other of said brackets including a resilientmember interposed between the bracket and said plate.

2. A grain guide and retarder for binders comprising a substantiallyarcuate plate member attached to a binder deck, said plate member be,-ing positioned at right angles to the deck, and having its lower endnearer to the binder tying mechanism than its upper end, said platemember including a plurality of raised serrations, said serration havingangularly inclined rear portions against which grain heads are adaptedto bear, said serrations having rounded end portions, means foradjustably securing said plate in any desired position, including a pairof brackets attached thereto, one of said brackets being piv otallyattached thereto, the other of said brackets including a resilientmember interposed between the bracket and said plate, said bracketshaving elongated slots, bolts engaged With said slots and said deck toprovide said adjustment.

FRANK WENGLER.

